Audi Takes a One-Two Victory in the Desert - Web Exclusive

Bahrain is hot and tough, but Audi makes it through.

Marking its fifth victory this season, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro wins the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Bahrain with the trio of Le Mans winners Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer.

Tréluyer and his team led the race ahead of the sister car driven by Kristensen/McNish who finished in second despite headlight and tire issues, resulting in 4 unscheduled stops on laps 25, 89, 115 and 117.

The victory here, though, is twofold. Bahrain’s climate is desert heat, and during the race the air was a dry 113 degrees on track, making this stop the toughest 6-hour race of the year so far, but Audi’s hybrid technology on the e-tron quattro proved extremely reliable and performed flawlessly.

This was the first time since Le Mans that Audi fielded two e-tron quattros, making sure neither driver group had an advantage over one another, giving equal odds the battle for the title.

The gap between the two teams was 7.5 point before Bahrain and now it’s 13.5, though there are still 52 points on the table for the final two races in Japan and China, so the title is still up for grabs. Tune in for round 7 at Fuji on October 14th, we’ll be watching!